Defense mechanisms against aging and cancer: lessons from the naked mole rats

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26640078
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Tumor biology
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Okada Masato 大阪大学, 微生物病研究所, 教授 (10177058)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: がん / 老化 / ハダカデバネズミ / mTOR

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The naked mole rat (NMR) has recently attracted attention for its longevity and resistance to cancer. This study aimed to elucidate the molecular basis for these remarkable features. We first analyzed the mTOR signaling pathway, which had been implicated in aging and caner, and found that the transcription factor FoxO3a is constitutively activated and localized to the nucleus in NMR cells. We also observed that knockdown of FoxO3a suppressed the contact inhibition of cell growth in NMR cells, while the expression of active form of FoxO3a inhibited cell growth in mouse cells. These findings demonstrate that NMR has a unique system for the regulation of FoxO3a and shed new lights on the role of FoxO3a as a regulatory point of longevity and resistance to cancer.

Free Research Field

腫瘍生物学